TIBET, 15TH-16TH CENTURY

Manifesting as an elegant young woman seated in the posture of 'royal ease,' this finely-cast gilt-bronze figure depicts a beautiful representation of the female bodhisattva, Tara. According to Buddhist mythography, Tara was born from a lotus bud arising from a tear of compassion shed by the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. She is worshiped as a liberator, helping to free devotees from the chain of birth and rebirth, and all the suffering that ensues. In the present iconography, she is represented in a form known as Green Tara, emphasizing Tara's protection from The Eight Great Dangers.
Likely produced in Tibet by artisans referencing the Newari Style of the Kathmandu Valley, the crisp petals and deeply recessed waist of the lotus base, along with the inclusion of inset turquoise and semi-precious stones exhibits the tradition of Newari craftsmanship. However, the delicate casting of the Green Tara’s diminutive breasts and the finely engraved patterns within her lower garment reveal distinctly Tibetan religious and stylistic preferences influenced by Chinese aesthetics and philosophy. Compare the figure's graceful posture, the inlay of semi-precious gems, and her benevolent expression with another bronze figure of Tara sold at Christie’s New York, 14 September 2015, lot 47. For a similar treatment of the lotus base, compare the present work with another smaller figure of Tara sold at Christie’s New York, 5 July 2022, lot 85.